Since a new law was officially signed on July 1 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, many materials that violate it will be discontinued for any age or group. However, many media specialists feel challenged by it.
The law states that any material containing “sexual conduct” will be removed from libraries for all ages within five days. It’s a media specialists job to catalog and review material before being put into shelves, but the new law poses an issue for their duty.
The Florida Department of Education informed media specialists to be overly cautious, but it’s clear they’re still confused on what fell under the inappropriate conduct.
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Issues and Arguments
Kathleen Malloy, who depended on the Miller Test to determine if content was obscene, was concerned because valuable material was at risk of being pulled out. She says it doesn’t matter whether it’s a small amount, using Shakespeare’s works as an example.
She adds it could have an impact on the AP literature exam and dual-enrollment classes. Others share her sentiment, some school districts put their review on hold until the Department issues training aid. Meanwhile, advocates dispute how districts interpret it.
The law states that “sexual conduct” is applied to content containing sexual battery, intercourse, contact with genitalia, or anything pornographic.
According to Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a book-access organization created by public school parents, parents who ask a special magistrate to review the decision urge other groups to put pressure on school systems.
Director Kasey Meehan of the Freedom to Read project at PEN America criticizes the ban as a way to threaten educational administrations by creating a vague law.
Last week, Superintendent Rocky Hanna, who was reluctant to ban books, was prodded by Moms for Liberty, a group that advocates against LGBT, discrimination, and race and ethnicity content.
Source: USA Today
